WASHINGTON, D.C. — Michele Leonhart, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, dodged a tough line of repepated questioning from Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) on Wednesday, refusing to answer a number of questions about the comparative health impacts of marijuana and other, harder drugs.

Leonhart was testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Polis, a top congressional advocate for marijuana law reform, took the opportunity to grill the DEA administrator on some specifics about marijuana, which has been decriminalized in some parts of his state and legalized for medical purposes in the rest.

“Is crack worse for a person than marijuana?” Polis asked Leonhart.

“I believe all illegal drugs are bad,” Leonhart answered.

“Yes, no, or I don’t know?” Polis said. “If you don’t know, you can look this up. You should know this as the chief administrator for the Drug Enforcement Agency. I’m asking a very straightforward question: Is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana?”

Network

Resources

DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that possessing, using, distributing & selling marijuana are all federal crimes and the articles, pages, links, or any other information on this site are NOT intended to assist you in violating federal law nor will they in any way assist you in complying with federal law.